These Rare Circumstances
by blue parasol
Summary: Catching a shooting star at first glance is pretty rare and catching a heart is even rarer. But a golden maiden managed to do so. All because the lion lost his grip of his own, that it suddenly fell from the sky and plummeted straight into her hands.


Hi guys! This story was actually a product of my boredom for being stuck inside our car for an agonizing five hours travel, really. I just typed this on my phone then. So even if I rechecked it for a few times, I'm not that confident that it's error-free. Besides, English is not my main language, and in advance I'm sorry for any mistakes you'll see. In any case, I hope you like it.

* * *

DISCLAIMER: Fairy Tail and all its characters are owned by **Hiro Mashima.**

* * *

It wasn't every day that Loke was summoned by Lucy to do her bidding. In all actuality, he was usually the one called out last to help her when she's in need. This however, even if it gives him much freedom to do whatever he pleases with his time, irks the lion spirit to wits end.

'_Come on, Lucy, you know I can be very useful'_, were usually his thoughts whenever he sees the other spirits contracted to her disappear with a poof.

In spite of all evidences that point otherwise, like the long line that his girlfriends make, he does want to be with her as much as he could, really, absolutely. He'd give them all up without even blinking, all for Lucy's sake.

In Loke's mind, he would gladly be demoted to a Nicola if it meant being with her longer. Not that he's being mean to the loyal spirit dogs, it just so happened that the circumstances were arranged like that. He would willingly exchange his own form for a weird shaped nose and abnormally shaking body if he can be with Lucy more often.

If he'll have it his way, he'll accompany her all day and all night, he'll also gratefully stand on guard when she's taking a shower.

But well, he could only do so if she's willing, and sadly it wasn't usually the case.

Yes, he could open a gate of his own but that costs him too much energy…and patience for that matter. Why so? It's because most of the times when he had popped out to visit her, Lucy seemed to be too irritated to see him. Then again, being the promiscuous person he is, he'd try to win her over with his typical tactics, only ending up with the two of them mad at each other.

Later on, he consulted the other spirits regarding his habits and they all said that he could be really annoying at most, much to the man's chagrin. So he tried to cut down the promiscuity level to a minimum. He really tried. And the key word is he "_tried_."

So when one day, while he's busy flirting with some random girl he met and Lucy called out of the blue, Loke did not waste a nanosecond to answer to his master. He even left the unknown girl blinking on his wake without even a small nod.

Landing on his foot gracefully, he poised his body, wary of all things happening around him. After all, he was usually called when the situation is too dire for the other spirits to handle. Looking around he saw that he's standing on top of a tiled roof near her neighborhood. Loke couldn't find any threats. And though muddled as he is, he remained on guard just in case.

"Loke." Her voice whispered his name into the cold night breeze. He noticed that she was wrapped in a thick blanket, her cheeks flushed from the biting cold, hair dancing with the wind.

"What happened, Lucy? Is there a problem?" He asked the girl that is slightly shivering at his feet.

Kneeling down, he pulled off his coat and draped it over her. The quivering girl then let the blanket fall off momentarily before slipping on the coat over her body. The sleeves of the coat fell longer than her arms . Noticing the misfit of the clothing, Lucy laughed audibly.

"Nothing to worry about, Loke. So you can just drop now that rigid stance and relax with me." She assured him, pulling him down by the shoulders to emphasize her point.

The spirit nodded with apprehension before he sat next to her, eyeing the blonde girl a little bit pointedly than what was necessary. He's aware that he's making her feel uncomfortable with his stare.

"Lucy what did you call me for?" His tone came off a bit irritated, not exactly what he intended. He actually wanted to sound serious. Luckily for him, the girl is in good spirits; otherwise they would've been off to a bad start.

"What? Can't I see you when I miss you?" She told him, catching him off guard by the implication of her statement.

"O-of course you can. You know that I do too. But, you kinda sound different." he confessed. Wary for the reaction he'll get from her.

"Is that so? I feel the same anyways." She replied with a beam.

"You sure you're okay, Lucy?" Loke asked again just to be really certain.

"Yup, I'm perfectly fine." The girl guaranteed to him the second time.

"Are you really sure?" He asked again, totally unconvinced with her display.

The girl let out an exasperated sigh before turning to look at him with an annoyed expression.

"Don't make me regret that I called you out, Loke. I told you already, I'm fine." She said in a resigned voice. Loke backed off after that.

"Right, forgive me. I didn't mean to be pushy." He apologized somberly to her.

He decided to let the matter go. It's been so long since she last called him and he doesn't plan on leaving anytime yet. Moments like this were pretty rare so he's going to savor it till the last drop.

She suddenly laughed at his expression.

"Silly, Loke. There's no need to be sorry. I'm just messing with you. Cheer up. Honestly, I do miss you a lot." Loke heard her speak in her bubbly voice, making his heart skip and trip on its beat.

There is something eerily different to his master, Loke noted, but no matter what it is, he actually likes it. Besides, he knows that Lucy is up to something. The mischievous glint in her eyes was too obvious to go unnoticed.

They were on her rooftop for some reason he can't fathom, he was summoned for a reason that she won't tell. Indeed he's intrigued but he can only wait and see as things unfold. After all he's a predator, and he's bound to have a lot of patience if he wants to catch his prey.

And so, he resigned to studying her openly. He noted that even in the dark she seemed to be glowing with an ethereal light from within. He began to unconsciously stroke her hair realizing only what he's doing when she suddenly leaned her head against his palm. They stayed like that for a while, as if they were waiting for something that only she knows.

Then all too abruptly, she broke the comforting silence between them when she spoke in an excited manner. Lucy prodded him with questions like a kid would to her mother.

"Do you know what month it is today, Loke?" She asked him as she continued to stare at the dark horizon.

"I believe it's November of this year." He answered nonchalantly. Still clueless as to where their conversation is going.

"True. Do you want to know why I called you?" She queried in a taunting voice that leaves the spirit on his toes.

"Naturally, I would want to know." He admitted to her in a slightly excited voice.

She started giggling. Loke waited for her to continue.

In a dreamy voice she replied, "Well, the truth is, I want to watch the Leonids with you. I heard that there's a meteor storm tonight."

"Oh." Was all Loke managed to utter. Lucy gave him a quizzical gaze as if he was a weird colored centipede. Then he mentally cringed when he realized the analogy that he made up.

"Quit that dumbfounded look already, it's creepy." She said as she jokingly tried to squish his face with her small fingers.

Regaining his composure, Loke removed her hands off his face and then held them in place between them.

"What made you come up with that idea?" He asked her curiously, because there's no doubt that Lucy is thoughtful, but this brand of thoughtful is making him confused. She wasn't usually the one to take the initiative.

"When I heard the news from the forecast program, I said to myself, 'I'm definitely going to watch it with Loke. I'm sure he'll love it'," With an embarrassed face, the girl beside him professed, quoting her own words as she explained.

"I've been pretty harsh on you the past weeks and I know that I made you sad. So I thought that I'll try to surprise you with a little gift to make it up to you. I know that I'm pushing you away whenever you're around. It's not that I don't want to see you, quite the opposite really,"

"I guess, I expressed myself in the wrong way. So for that, I'm sorry, really sorry for being mean to you." Lucy apologized to him.

He thought, _'Shouldn't it be that I'm the one apologizing and not the other way around?'_

Loke was speechless for a while as he stared at her sheepish expression.

"Loke? Loke you're awfully quiet." He didn't realize that he hasn't said a single word.

"Right, the Leonids, you're lucky to be able to witness the meteor storm. It happens only every thirty years or so." He replied more to himself than to her.

"Yeah, I'm very lucky...Loke, are you mad?" She questioned hesitantly.

"No, on the contrary I'm very happy right now." He flashed her a genuine smile to show that he really does.

"Really?" She asked him.

"Really." He answered her affirmatively.

"I'm glad my friend is happy." She said, sighing with obvious relief that he wasn't angry at her.

"You know that I can always be more than that." He countered playfully and saw that she was utterly reddened by his statement.

However, before she can retort something very nasty at him, a streak of light suddenly caught their eyes. Both their heads turned around to look and were rendered completely speechless with what they saw.

Because then right before them was the sight of falling stars raining down on earth. Loke had watched the renowned meteor storm before but he knows that he had never regarded it as that beautiful.

He wonders if it was the world itself that changed. Or was it actually him? He doesn't know which…yet.

He heard her sigh contentedly as the dancing light were reflected in their eyes. He removed his glasses and set it inside his shirt pocket, questioning himself as to why he hadn't removed it earlier.

Loke was pensive as he watched the Leonids light up the sky. His thoughts were preoccupied only by a single person: his key holder. In his whole existence, never did he have a master that he cared for as much as her. It's true that a spirit and their contractor were bound by their lives and soul. But that was all there is to it.

With Lucy, however, he feels like they were more than that.

He took a sideway glance to check on her. She was totally absorbed watching the scene before her that she was taken aback when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her body.

"I noticed that you're still cold despite all that layers of covering." Loke reasoned out. For him, that was his purpose for hugging the girl and that it was just a chivalrous act totally devoid of ulterior motives.

He's not completely sure though about the last part.

"Thank you. That was nice of you." The girl smiled sweetly in response. Loke gave her his smile too, unaware that she stared at him a little bit starry eyed.

"Say, Lucy. Let's watch the Leonids again next year." He proposed to the girl in a gleeful voice.

"Of course, if you like, we can turn this into some kind of tradition." She replied.

"Yes, I'd really like that. That sounds fun," He whispered softly to her ear his opinion on the matter.

Then once again, they fell into a comfortable silence, content with each other's presence. Despite his womanizing ways, his infamous reputation and all his supposed experiences, he felt something unfamiliar that he couldn't quite put a name in to. It felt like forgetting a favorite song or a favorite quote. It's like seeing the stars for the first time even if he'd seen it thousands of times before. It's like forgetting which way was up and which is down.

He's extremely confused with what he's feeling. But he doesn't mind one bit because it's so good.

After a while, she started a conversation again with him.

"You know what, I'm happy that I get to keep your key." She admitted as she leaned in to him deeper for his warmth.

Loke smiled at that and decided to respond back with his own.

"Ah, but Lucy," He started, Lucy turned around to look at him curiously.

"You're not just the keeper of my key...but also the keeper of my heart." He grinned teasingly at her.

"Idiot lion." She huffed angrily then whipped her head fast to look away from him.

But before she could totally remove her face from his line of vision, Loke caught a glance of the unmistakable blush painted on her cheeks. Not to mention the soft smile on her lips.

Seeing that, the weird sensation he's feeling intensified considerably and all he could think of was that,

"We can do this forever."

* * *

Regarding his unnamed feelings, Loke has a notion to what it could actually be. Surely, the possibilities were as endless as the night sky is, but the arrows were all pointing to a single thing.

The idea of it was ironic in every sense.

After all, the womanizing lion finally fell in love for real, and even he was not entirely aware of it.

* * *

A/N: If Lucy and Loke got a child, I think it would quite resemble Saber Lion (the one on the cover photo). Saber Lion's suit and green eyes resembles that of Loke's characteristics and the blonde hair goes to Lucy. Well, what do you think? :)))

_Thank you for reading this story. Please leave a review so I can improve my skills in writing (and so that __I can write a more decent story _if I ever get once again stuck on some form of transportation). :D


End file.
